Tobin's Spirit Guide
Tobin's Spirit Guide by John Horace Tobin is a book that is a compilation of various supernatural occurrences, entities, and facts. The computer software version is hard to find and is very expensive. Egon and Ray refer to it so frequently they may have entire sections memorized. Copies of the book have been shown to be available in hardback, paperback, and electronic media. History As Ivo Shandor is mentioned in the tome, it is reasonable to assume Tobin's Spirit Guide was written sometime in the 20th Century. Gozer rituals have been recorded in the book as happening as early as the 1920's so the guide would have to have been published anywhere from 1930-1980. In The Real Ghostbusters, Egon is shown to carry around a paperback version of the book on assignments. Egon sometimes had Tobin's Spirit Guide on small computer interface devices and later on computer. The latter was noted as being very expensive by Ray, because it probably wasn't popular to which Egon scoffs. It is also shown that the Ghostbusters may not have read every entry, as they often find something new when looking up unknown spirits in the guide. In Extreme Ghostbusters, the team uses Spengler's Spirit Guide, which may borrow material from Tobin's Spirit Guide. It may even be a complete rewrite of Tobin's in Egon's own words. However, the Extreme Team appear to rely more on the internet and checking out books to dig up information on ghosts that they know little about (though a copy of Tobin's can be seen on Egon's desk in the first episode). It was published as a source book for the Ghostbusters Role-Playing Game, containing ghosts from all over the world that could be used as adversaries in the game. As well as some background on Tobin himself. The Spirit Guide is used extensively in Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Here, the player can use the P.K.E. meter to scan ghosts and objects, unlocking their entry in an electronic version of the guide. In the Sylized version, Art Pages can also be found, which add images to the guide entries. The original manuscript can also be found in the basement of the firehouse in the Stylized version. In the Realistic version, once a ghost is scanned, a complete bio of the ghost appears, complete with a picture, their class level, their powers, the ghostbusting weapons they are weak against, whether they can be trapped or destroyed, and some information on their backstory. Scanning and obtaining the Spirit Guide entries of any ghost in the game will unlock an Xbox 360 Achievement or PlayStation Trophy called "I'm Picking Up A Signal...," while obtaining the entries of all ghosts will unlock "Back Off Man. I'm a Scientist." Appearances The Real Ghostbusters *In "Mrs. Roger's Neighborhood," Egon Spengler looks up Wat. *In "Troll Bridge," the Trolls entry is consulted. An image of a Troll is seen. *In "The Boogieman Cometh," the Boogieman entry is consulted. *In "The Spirit of Aunt Lois," the Domoviye entry is consulted. They are referred to as location spirits, possibly implying a specific section of the tome. *In "Ain't NASA-Sarily So," the computerized version is used. *In "Don't Forget the Motor City," Ray Stanz consults what appears to be a pocket paperback version. A full spread of various depictions of Gremlins are shown. *In the script for "The Collect Call of Cathulhu," Ray Stanz is looking through Tobin's Spirit Guide when he realizes the corporeal entity that stole the Necronomicon was a Spawn of Cathulhu. Egon Spengler looks further to find when the summoning ritual is, implying an entry on the Cult of Cathulhu and/or Cathulhu. *In "The Bird of Kildarby," the computerized version is consulted when the Ghostbusters look up Castle Kildarby and later, the Bird of Kildarby. *In "Masquerade," Egon Spengler uses the computerized version to look up the Hollowell House. *In "The Devil in the Deep," Egon Spengler uses the computerized version to look up Necksa. *In "I Am the City," a new home computer version is used to look up Marduk. Egon types in Creature, Four Eyes, Four Ears, and Red Skin. *In "Poultrygeist," Ray searches through the hardcover tome in search of the Werechicken entry. It is after Wereaardvarks and Werebears. The Werechicken entry also contains the formula for the antidote that cures human beings bitten by a Werechicken. *In "Standing Room Only," the home computer version is used to look up Mee-Krah. The file has ineligible (to fans) information, which Egon reads out loud, and two images of Mee-Krah. *In "Follow That Hearse," Ray uses the home computer version to look up the Manhattan Earth Spirit. The file has a brief history and image. *In "If I Were a Witch Man," Ray uses the hardcover to look up Kestrel. *In "Partners in Slime," the home computer is used to look up Poso and Shifter. Both files listed their Class, Identification Number, Personality, and Attributes. *In "The Halloween Door," Egon opens the hardcover to an entry on Halloween. On the opposite page is an image of Boogaloo. *In "The Ransom of Greenspud," the home computer is used to look up Spiderlegs but is misspelled 'Spiderless.' *In "Janine, You've Changed," Egon finds a file on Makeoverus Lotsabucks on the home computer. *In "Very Beast Friends," Egon uses a hardcover copy to look up entries on Anshar and Kishnar. *In "Ghostworld," Egon uses the computerized version to look up Karro Zans. *In "Afterlife in the Fast Lane," Egon looks up The Phantom aboard his Spengler Speedster. *In "Busters in Toyland," Egon uses the computerized version to look up Lothgar. *In "Not Now, Slimer!," Egon uses the computerized version in Ecto-1 but can't find a file on the Squid Ghost. References Ghostbusters *In Ghostbusters, Tobin's Spirit Guide is mentioned as a book to use in researching Zuul. It is later mentioned when Egon Spengler recalls Ivo Shandor's name in Tobin's. The Real Ghostbusters *In "Apocalypse - - What, Now?," Egon Spengler considers aloud how he should use Tobin's Spirit Guide to identify the four equestrian manifestations that were just trapped. *In "The Scaring of the Green," Ray Stanz mentions Chapter 27 of Tobin's Spirit Guide is called Botanical Specific Avoidance in Spectral Manifestations. *In "The Long, Long, Long, etc. Goodbye," Egon Spengler suggests Tobin's Spirit Guide, old newspapers, and books on the history of the neighborhood to identify the new ectoplasmic entity (Blacky). *In "Halloween II 1/2," Jason mentions the Junior Ghostbusters' Halloween Costumes are based on illustrations of Class 5 Full Roaming Vapors found on Page 23 of Tobin's Spirit Guide (though it is clear that Jason is an alien, Donald is a vampire, and Catherine is a witch). Trivia *In The Real Ghostbusters, Tobin's Spirit Guide has a total of 1213 pages. *In the West End Games RPG Version of "Tobin's Spirit Guide," the first edition was printed in October 1920 by Guzman, Scott, and Bonterre Publishers. Gallery TobinsSpiritGuidePocketbook.jpg|Pocket Version TobinsSpiritGuidePocketbookGremlins.jpg|Gremlins Entry in Pocket Version TobinsSpiritGuideComputerized.jpg|Computerized Version used in space TobinsSpiritGuideComputerized2.jpg|Computerized Version - Main Design TobinsSpiritGuideHomeComputer.jpg|Home Computer Version TobinsSpiritGuideHomeComputerMarduk.jpg|Home Computer Search Category: Equipment Category:Ghostbusters Movie Category:RGB Equipment